CVE-2026-42809
Apache Polaris: staged table creation could vend storage credentials for unvalidated locations
Apache Polaris can issue broad temporary ("vended") storage credentials during staged table creation before the effective table location has been validated or durably reserved. Those temporary credentials are meant to limit the scope of accessible table data and metadata, but this scope limitation becomes attacker- directed because the attacker can choose a reachable target location.
In the confirmed variant, if the caller supplies a custom location during
stage create and requests credential vending, Apache Polaris uses that location to
construct delegated storage credentials immediately. The stage-create path
itself neither runs the normal location validation nor the overlap checks
before those credentials are issued.
Closely related to that, the staged-create flow also accepts
write.data.path / write.metadata.path in the request properties and
feeds
those location overrides into the same effective table location set used for
credential vending. Those fields are secondary to the main custom-location
exploit, but they are still attacker-influenced location inputs that should
be
validated before any credentials are issued.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
9.4
Apache Polaris: staged table creation could vend storage credentials for unvalidated locations
Apache Polaris can issue broad temporary ("vended") storage credentials during staged table creation before the effective table location has been validated or durably reserved. Those temporary credentials are meant to limit the scope of accessible table data and metadata, but this scope limitation becomes attacker- directed because the attacker can choose a reachable target location.
In the confirmed variant, if the caller supplies a custom location during
stage create and requests credential vending, Apache Polaris uses that location to
construct delegated storage credentials immediately. The stage-create path
itself neither runs the normal location validation nor the overlap checks
before those credentials are issued.
Closely related to that, the staged-create flow also accepts
write.data.path / write.metadata.path in the request properties and
feeds
those location overrides into the same effective table location set used for
credential vending. Those fields are secondary to the main custom-location
exploit, but they are still attacker-influenced location inputs that should
be
validated before any credentials are issued.
- Record
CVE-2026-42809- CVSS 4.0
- 9.4 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H - CVSS 3.1
- 9.9 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-862, CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-27033
9.4
Apache Polaris can issue broad temporary ("vended") storage credentials during staged table creation before the effective table location has been validated or durably reserved. Those temporary credentials are meant to limit the scope of accessible table data and metadata, but this scope limitation becomes attacker- directed because the attacker can choose a reachable target location.
In the confirmed variant, if the caller supplies a custom location during
stage create and requests credential vending, Apache Polaris uses that location to
construct delegated storage credentials immediately. The stage-create path
itself neither runs the normal location validation nor the overlap checks
before those credentials are issued.
Closely related to that, the staged-create flow also accepts
write.data.path / write.metadata.path in the request properties and
feeds
those location overrides into the same effective table location set used for
credential vending. Those fields are secondary to the main custom-location
exploit, but they are still attacker-influenced location inputs that should
be
validated before any credentials are issued.
- Record
EUVD-2026-27033- CVSS 4.0
- 9.4 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-8ggj-j522-h5qf
9.4
Apache Polaris has an Improper Input Validation Issue
Apache Polaris can issue broad temporary ("vended") storage credentials during staged table creation before the effective table location has been validated or durably reserved. Those temporary credentials are meant to limit the scope of accessible table data and metadata, but this scope limitation becomes attacker-directed because the attacker can choose a reachable target location.
In the confirmed variant, if the caller supplies a custom location during stage create and requests credential vending, Apache Polaris uses that location to construct delegated storage credentials immediately. The stage-create path itself neither runs the normal location validation nor the overlap checks before those credentials are issued.
Closely related to that, the staged-create flow also accepts write.data.path / write.metadata.path in the request properties and
feeds those location overrides into the same effective table location set used for credential vending. Those fields are secondary to the main custom-location exploit, but they are still attacker-influenced location inputs that should be validated before any credentials are issued.
- Record
GHSA-8ggj-j522-h5qf- CVSS 4.0
- 9.4 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H - CVSS 3.1
- 9.9 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
9.4
Apache Polaris can issue broad temporary ("vended") storage credentials during staged table creation before the effective table location has been validated or durably reserved. Those temporary credentials are meant to limit the scope of accessible table data and metadata, but this scope limitation becomes attacker- directed because the attacker can choose a reachable target location.
In the confirmed variant, if the caller supplies a custom location during
stage create and requests credential vending, Apache Polaris uses that location to
construct delegated storage credentials immediately. The stage-create path
itself neither runs the normal location validation nor the overlap checks
before those credentials are issued.
Closely related to that, the staged-create flow also accepts
write.data.path / write.metadata.path in the request properties and
feeds
those location overrides into the same effective table location set used for
credential vending. Those fields are secondary to the main custom-location
exploit, but they are still attacker-influenced location inputs that should
be
validated before any credentials are issued.
- Record
CVE-2026-42809- CVSS 4.0
- 9.4 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 9.9 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-20, CWE-862
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
9.4
Apache Polaris: staged table creation could vend storage credentials for unvalidated locations
Apache Polaris can issue broad temporary ("vended") storage credentials during staged table creation before the effective table location has been validated or durably reserved. Those temporary credentials are meant to limit the scope of accessible table data and metadata, but this scope limitation becomes attacker- directed because the attacker can choose a reachable target location.
In the confirmed variant, if the caller supplies a custom location during
stage create and requests credential vending, Apache Polaris uses that location to
construct delegated storage credentials immediately. The stage-create path
itself neither runs the normal location validation nor the overlap checks
before those credentials are issued.
Closely related to that, the staged-create flow also accepts
write.data.path / write.metadata.path in the request properties and
feeds
those location overrides into the same effective table location set used for
credential vending. Those fields are secondary to the main custom-location
exploit, but they are still attacker-influenced location inputs that should
be
validated before any credentials are issued.
- Record
CVE-2026-42809- CVSS 4.0
- 9.4 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H - Weakness
- CWE-20, CWE-862
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-8ggj-j522-h5qf
9.4
Apache Polaris has an Improper Input Validation Issue
Apache Polaris can issue broad temporary ("vended") storage credentials during staged table creation before the effective table location has been validated or durably reserved. Those temporary credentials are meant to limit the scope of accessible table data and metadata, but this scope limitation becomes attacker-directed because the attacker can choose a reachable target location.
In the confirmed variant, if the caller supplies a custom location during stage create and requests credential vending, Apache Polaris uses that location to construct delegated storage credentials immediately. The stage-create path itself neither runs the normal location validation nor the overlap checks before those credentials are issued.
Closely related to that, the staged-create flow also accepts write.data.path / write.metadata.path in the request properties and
feeds those location overrides into the same effective table location set used for credential vending. Those fields are secondary to the main custom-location exploit, but they are still attacker-influenced location inputs that should be validated before any credentials are issued.
- Record
GHSA-8ggj-j522-h5qf- CVSS 4.0
- 9.4 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H - CVSS 3.1
- 9.9 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
org.apache.polaris:polaris-runtime-serviceMaven |
before 1.4.1 | 1.4.1 |
org.apache.polaris:polaris-runtime-serviceMaven |
before 1.4.1, plus listed versions 1.0.0-incubating1.0.1-incubating1.1.0-incubating1.2.0-incubating1.3.0-incubating1.4.0 |
1.4.1 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-42809 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.4) in Apache Polaris, published May 4, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.36%, the 29th percentile. Fixed in org.apache.polaris:polaris-runtime-service 1.4.1.
References
lists.apache.org/thread/8tfsr8y7pgq6rdcvjx95hkcr47td671r
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/02/10
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42809
github.com/apache/polaris/commit/c98d610bc8f7ee237b272e01814391838dd6abf9
github.com/apache/polaris/releases/tag/apache-polaris-1.4.1
github.com/advisories/GHSA-8ggj-j522-h5qf
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/42xxx/CVE-2026-42809.json
github.com/apache/polaris